At present, a heightened interest in security and various electronic devices related to security are increasingly being made available. For example, security-related electronic devices such as a gate locking device, a safe, and the like are used.
In the security-related technology, biometric techniques using fingerprints and irises are in the spotlight for their potential to facilitate high security, and portable devices employing the biometric techniques as solutions to security problems related to personal information have become desired.
Iris recognition, which is one of the biometric techniques, uses iris patterns of eyeballs having a unique characteristic for each person, and is considered as a preferred security technique in view of accuracy and stability of data, facility of use, and a processing speed, in comparison with fingerprint or retina recognition. The iris has its unique pattern when a person is one or two years old and does not change its pattern for the entirety of a person's life, and also, the iris recognition has 266 determination criteria, which is nine times more than those of fingerprint recognition, 30 determination criteria, and may be thought to be one of the better methods for identifying a person. In addition, since the iris recognition is a non-contact method which recognizes an iris pattern using a camera at a distance of about 8-25 cm from a person, users have minimal aversion to using it and it is possible to recognize biometric information quickly (e.g., within 2 seconds).
The iris recognition uses an infrared ray photographing device. An iris image is obtained by scanning the iris with infrared rays and photographing the infrared rays reflected back from the iris. The infrared rays are less reflected on the cornea unlike the visible rays and thus are effective in photographing the iris pattern.
However, when the eyes are frequently exposed to infrared rays, the eyes may get dry, and even worse, there is a report that infrared rays may cause a cataract. In particular, when an iris recognition device is implemented as a portable device and performs iris recognition outside, the intensity of infrared rays may increase due to the influence of external light and thus may cause even more damage to the eyes.
In view of the above, there is a need for a method for minimizing the exposure to infrared rays to eyes when the iris is recognized.
The above information is presented as background information only to assist with an understanding of the present disclosure. No determination has been made, and no assertion is made, as to whether any of the above might be applicable as prior art with regard to the present disclosure.